Stress can be highest during the preoperative phase, while the patient waits for the unknown to occur. It is at this time that patients often cannot truly process the procedural information given or fully understand the course of the upcoming procedure. It is also at this time when the patient considers the possibility of surgical failure or the threat of discovering a worse illness that has not been detected previously.
Even medications meant to alleviate pain can substantially contribute to anxieties. Fears of anesthetics, the pain of administration, and fear of possible complications can trigger levels of anxiety nearly as strong as the anxiety from anticipation of the medical procedure itself.1